Philipsburg:--- A police officer who responded to the accident scene on L.B. Scot Road early Friday morning has left the Prosecutor's Office in shambles and the family of Margarita Rosario Contreras clueless based on the conclusions he submitted in his report to the Prosecutor's Office on the driver who is responsible for the death of the 49 year old woman.
Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos in an interview with SMN News said that St. Maarten still does not have any law that regulates the legal limit of alcohol when driving a motor vehicle. Mos said some two years ago he handed over a copy of the Aruban law on drunken driving to the relevant authorities in order to enable them to insert that into the local traffic ordinance. The Aruban law, like the Dutch, has a 0.5 promille and the use of breathalyzers for testing persons that are suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol, but to date that legislation is not in place. Mos further explained that the driver who hit the woman while crossing the street early Friday morning cooperated with the police because he was arrested on the spot. "The driver went to the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) voluntarily and took a blood test which showed his alcohol level was 1.6 when he was involved in the accident that killed the woman almost instantly. However, the police officer who was on the spot concluded that the driver was in a proper and fit condition to drive even though his alcohol level was that high.
The island's Chief Prosecutor said that the driver was arrested when the accident occurred and he was placed in a cell to sober up, after that police continued with the questioning. Mos said in order to put a suspect in custody, the Police have to determine if a person is responsible for committing a crime that warrants more than four years prison term.
In this case, the police officer did not consider the driver incapable of driving. If the driver was considered incapable, a crime with a four year warrant could have been held against him. Since this was not the case, according to police, the suspect could not be remanded in custody by the Police.
Mos said that even though a full report has not yet been submitted to his office, given the information he received from the Police it is likely that his office will file a case against the suspect. First the file will have to be studied. Involuntary manslaughter in traffic is a serious crime and can be punished with a prison sentence of up to two years. Not keeping a person in custody does not mean that the suspect is off the hook.